States can use this interactive calculator to estimate the increased cost of providing child care that meets
coronavirus guidelines.
By Simon Workman and Mat Brady
Child care providers across the country are struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite some additional funding appropriated by Congress through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, providers are facing increased costs and decreased revenue. This calculator quantifies the additional costs that licensed child care providers are facing as they provide safe and developmentally appropriate child care during the pandemic.
Select your state from the drop-down menu below to populate the calculator with default data. Then select if you want to estimate the cost of child care before the pandemic (Pre-Coronavirus scenario) or the cost of child care that meets emergency child care regulations (Coronavirus scenario). For details of the data assumptions and calculations, please see the methodological appendix XX insert link to methodology XX.
Ratios
The ratio and group size data below are pre-populated based on the selected state and scenario but can also edit the data in each cell. Users should then enter the number of classrooms in their model program. The number of children will be automatically calculated.
| Ratios | Group Size | Number of classrooms |
Number of children |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infants |
Ratio should be smaller than Group Size |
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| Toddlers |
Ratio should be smaller than Group Size |
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| 3-year-olds |
Ratio should be smaller than Group Size |
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| 4-year-olds |
Ratio should be smaller than Group Size |
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| Total |
Select one of two default salary levels to model either current salaries or higher salaries for the early childhood workforce. See the methodology for full details of salary data used in the calculator. The table below includes default salaries and a default staffing pattern based on the size of the center. Users can override the number of staff at each position as well as the annual salary or hourly wage. Additional staff can be added by clicking the plus icon and entering the required details.
Salary level
| Staff | Number of staff | Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program Director |
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| Assistant Director |
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| Administrative Assistant |
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| Lead Teacher |
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| Assistant Teacher |
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| Floater |
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Select the check box below to include health insurance for employees. The annual cost per employee is prepopulated but can be updated by the user. The number of sick days and paid leave days can also be updated.
Cost per full-time employee
Deep cleaning
Cost per cleaning
Sanitation supplies
Miscellaneous
| Annual | Monthly | Weekly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infants | |||
| Toddlers | |||
| 3-year-olds | |||
| 4-year-olds |
Enter the number of children enrolled in the model program.
| Number of children |
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|---|---|
| Infants |
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| Toddlers |
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| 3-year-olds |
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| 4-year-olds |
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| Total |
In this calculator, an annual salary is included for family child care providers/owners. Select one of two default salary levels to model either current salaries or higher salaries. See the methodology for full details of salary data used in the calculator. The table below shows the staff positions and number of staff in each position in the model family child care homes based on the size of the program. Users can override the number of staff at each position as well as the annual salary or hourly wage. Additional staff can be added by clicking the plus icon and entering the required details.
Salary level
| Staff | Number of staff | Salary | Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider/Owner |
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| Assistant teacher |
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Select the check box below to include health insurance for the provider/owner and any employees. The annual cost per employee is prepopulated but can be updated by the user. The number of sick days and paid leave days can also be updated.
Deep Cleaning
Cost per cleaning
Sanitation supplies
Miscellaneous
| Annual | Monthly | Weekly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infants | |||
| Toddlers | |||
| 3-year-olds | |||
| 4-year-olds |
Data on this tab is informed by the scenarios created on the “Child Care Centers” and “Family Child Care Homes” tabs. This tab can be used to estimate the total monthly cost of covering the fixed costs for a specified percentage of providers in the state and the total monthly cost of covering all operating costs for a specified percentage of child care slots in the state.
The data on the number of licensed child care centers and licensed family child care homes in the selected state and the capacity of those programs are drawn from the Center for American Progress’ child care deserts database. These data can be updated by the user.
| Number of providers |
Total capacity | |
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| Child care centers |
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| Family child care homes |
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To estimate the total cost of covering fixed costs for a percentage of providers and the operating costs for a percentage of slots, enter the desired percentages below.
Percentage of providers’ fixed costs covered:
Percentage of capacity operating costs covered: